Lectures 2 and 3 and 4: Prologue

After this lecture, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Outline the series of events that resulted in the Public Awareness of the AIDS epidemic.
* What was the role of the media?
* How did the Public initially respond?
* What is the infectious agent? a virus? a bacteria? How is that infectious agent spread?
* Who was C. Everett Koop? What was his stance on AIDS education?
* Who was Jesse Helms? What was his stance on the use of Federal Funds for AIDS education?
* Just how expensive is it to maintain the drug regimens of AIDS patients?
* Do government programs help subsidize the cost of these drug regimens?
* How much does it cost the U.S. each year to pay for such government programs?

2. Outline the series of events that resulted in the 1993 outbreak of "intestinal flu" in Milwaukee.
* How does widespread abseenteeism affect the Public Health?
* What is Cryptosporidium parvum? What kinds of symptoms does it cause in humans? How is it transmitted?
* What is the risk of exposure of immunocompromised patients to this parasite?
* What was the concrete evidence that the drinking water was contaminated with this parasite?

3. What are some of the factors that contributed to the decline of Public Health in Russia?

4. With respect to life expectancy in Russia, has it increased or decreased in the past 40 years?

5. How does the infant mortality rate of Russia compare to that of the United States?

6. How many abortions occur in Russia for every 10 births?

7. How has the Chernobyl diaster contributed to the decline of Public Health in that country?

8. List some Public Health measures that could be implemented to help improve the Public Health of Russia.